得慌 / 得厉害 / 坏了 / 透了: strong degree in speech
【五36】补语 / complements
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
These complements express a very high degree, usually an unpleasant one. They belong to speech and take the place of 很: you cannot say 很累得慌.
• 得慌: a discomfort you cannot shake off, mostly physical: 累得慌, 饿得慌, 渴得慌, 闷得慌, 腰酸得慌.
• 得厉害: “terribly, a great deal”: 疼得厉害, 紧张得厉害, 咳嗽得厉害. The most neutral of the four.
• 坏了: “to the point of exhaustion or sickness”: 累坏了, 吓坏了, 担心坏了, 急坏了.
• 透了: “thoroughly, through and through”: 烦透了, 失望透了, 伤透了心.
They extend 极了、死了、得很、得不得了 with more colour. For joy, keep 得不得了 or 极了 (高兴得不得了): 慌 always names a discomfort, and 坏 / 透 carry a note of suffering.
Examples
我饿得慌，先去吃点东西吧。
Wǒ è de huāng, xiān qù chī diǎn dōngxi ba.I'm starving; let's go and get something to eat first.
坐了一天，我的腰酸得慌。
Zuò le yì tiān, wǒ de yāo suān de huāng.After a whole day sitting, my back aches unbearably.
跑了一整天，你一定累坏了吧？
Pǎo le yì zhěng tiān, nǐ yídìng lèi huài le ba?You've been running about all day; you must be worn out.
他的腿疼得厉害，走路都很困难。
Tā de tuǐ téng de lìhai, zǒulù dōu hěn kùnnan.His leg hurts terribly; even walking is hard.
考试越来越近，她紧张得厉害。
Kǎoshì yuè lái yuè jìn, tā jǐnzhāng de lìhai.The exam is getting closer and she is extremely nervous.
这种天天加班的日子，我真是烦透了。
Zhè zhǒng tiāntiān jiābān de rìzi, wǒ zhēn shì fán tòu le.I am thoroughly sick of days when I work overtime every day.
Common mistakes
✗ 我很累得慌 → ✓ 我累得慌 (no 很: the complement already carries the degree).
✗ 我高兴得慌 → ✓ 我高兴得不得了 (慌 names a discomfort: 累、饿、渴、闷、酸; for joy use 得不得了 or 极了).
✗ 我对他失望透。 → ✓ 我对他失望透了 (坏 and 透 come with 了).